1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a multiple-disk device, e.g., a multiple-disk brake or clutch, with at least one disk located in a housing and at least one disk located on a shaft, in which coolant is in the housing.
2. Technical Considerations
Wet running multiple-disk brakes or clutches are used as parking brakes and/or service brakes in drive axles, for example in mobile machinery in the form of industrial trucks, or as clutches in transmissions of mobile machinery. The closed housing that contains the multiple-disk brake or clutch is filled with a determined quantity of coolant, such as hydraulic fluid, which is heated during operation by the energy dissipated during idling and towing when the brake or clutch is disengaged, and/or by the heat of friction given off when the multiple-disk brake or clutch is engaged, as well as by the energy dissipated from the adjacent components, e.g., from a transmission or a drive motor of the drive axle. As the amount of coolant in the housing increases, the amount of energy dissipated by the multiple-disk brake or clutch also increases, which results in reduced efficiency of the machinery that is equipped with a multiple-disk brake or clutch of this type. As the quantity of coolant decreases, of course, less energy is dissipated by the multiple-disk brake or clutch. However, during normal operation, the coolant may be unable to absorb enough heat, as a result of which temperature problems can occur inside the multiple-disk brake or clutch. These conditions can also result in the premature aging of the coolant.
An object of this invention is to provide a multiple-disk brake or clutch of the general type described above but which offers improved cooling and requires less construction effort.